


Fatherly Butt-Kicking

by madlysanecatlady



Series: 100 Gladnis Prompts [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fatherly Advice, Fluff, Gladnis, M/M, more sleepy iggy, prompts, y'all know the drill with me by now it's just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 09:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13455180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madlysanecatlady/pseuds/madlysanecatlady
Summary: Ignis gets trapped at Gladio's family's house by a blizzard, amidst much will-they-won't-they tension. Clarus isn't having it.





	Fatherly Butt-Kicking

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the [ 100 Gladnis Prompts](https://ivyscientia.tumblr.com/post/170187944422/100-gladnis-prompts)
> 
> **Prompt #2**  
>  _Brotherhood. Insomnia in winter. Scenario: A freak blizzard leaves Gladio stranded at Ignis' apartment. Or vice versa. They have been tiptoeing around feelings for one another. What happens?_
> 
> I'd already done this one, but I wanted to give it another go.

****

The snow had been falling all day, but as evening began to fall, Ignis could barely see out the window in Gladio’s sitting room it was coming down so thickly.

‘Ignis, you may want to consider staying here for the night,’ Clarus said, looking up from the book he was reading in his armchair by the fire. ‘I’m loath to allow you to attempt to drive yourself back in this weather. That’s a recipe for disaster, and as much as I admire your cooking expertise, I’d rather you not master _that_ particular dish.’

Ignis chuckled at the joke, rather pleased that Gladio’s generally quiet and intimidating father had become comfortable enough with him to make it. He sighed. ‘I’ve begun to think the same thing, Lord Amicitia. His highness has already informed me that he’s safe in his apartment with his friend and has no need of me this evening, thankfully.’

‘Ignis, how many times have I asked you to simply call me Clarus?’ Clarus rolled his eyes. ‘You’re here so often it’s as though I’ve acquired a second son.’

‘Yeah, one you like better than the firstborn one,’ Gladio laughed, sticking his tongue out at his friend. ‘It’s lucky I like him too, or else I might get jealous.’

‘Some jealousy might spur you into harder training,’ Clarus shrugged, and Ignis would have thought it was a reprimand had he not learned to find the almost-imperceptible smirk at his lips.

‘You certainly could do with it,’ Ignis dodged a playful fist with a chuckle.

‘You’re sleeping on the floor for that one.’

‘The floor might do _your_ posture some good,’ Ignis strode over to the sofa and sat, resigned to his sleepover in the Amicitia household. There were worse places to be, for certain.

‘Yeah, yeah, Mr. Perfect Posture,’ Gladio followed, flopping down next to Ignis, the force of his weight hitting the cushions knocking Ignis over.

‘Seems there’s a freak instance of seismic activity over here,’ Ignis pulled himself back up.

‘As tends to happen when large masses make contact with a surface,’ Clarus nodded, eyes not straying from his book. ‘Gladio, do take care not to injure my favourite son.’

Gladio snorted, throwing his arm around Ignis’ shoulder and squeezing. ‘You’re lucky I like you, Iggy.’

‘I could do worse as far as friends go,’ Ignis shrugged, earning himself a chuckle from both Amicitias in the room. He looked over to Gladio and smiled. ‘So what were you planning for the evening? I won’t interrupt.’

Gladio shrugged. ‘All I had planned was playing with Iris. I promised her I would.’

‘Far be it from me to get in the way of that,’ Ignis chuckled. ‘That sounds like fun if you need a third.’

‘You might regret that if she decides she wants to give us makeovers or something,’ Gladio laughed. ‘Iris is a hurricane, and it should be moving in soon; she’ll be done her homework any minute now.’

On cue, Iris bounded into the room, launching herself at her brother. ‘Gladdy! Are you going to play with me now? You promised!’

‘Of course lil’ chocobo,’ Gladio caught her, keeping her from hitting Ignis. ‘Let’s pick something Ignis’ll like to do too, since he’s staying with us tonight.’

‘Oh good! You can help teach me cartwheels!’ Iris grinned up at him. ‘You’re so good at them. Gladdy’s way too heavy.’

Ignis smiled. ‘That will be fun, Iris. Maybe we can even get Gladio to do one.’

‘Yeah, don’t hold your breath on that,’ Gladio stood up and stretched.

‘Try not to let him fall on the floor,’ Clarus didn’t look up from his book. ‘He might cause an avalanche or something.’

Ignis chuckled appreciatively and stood up, allowing Iris to launch herself onto his back, finally having mastered the art of taking the brunt of the hit without losing his footing. Hauling her along, Ignis led the way to the stairs into the training space Clarus and Gladio had in the basement of their suburban home. He assumed this would be the only place with enough room for Iris to do her cartwheels.

Ignis placed her onto her feet, removed his jacket, folding it neatly along the seam and set it aside. He rolled up his sleeves and looked to Iris expectantly. ‘Shall we?’

‘Let’s shall.’

Iris was a fantastic student. Ignis always loved when she requested his help, be it on homework or for more leisurely pursuits like her budding interest in gymnastics. She listened intently to instructions and always made her attempts with the utmost enthusiasm. It was heartening to see someone so eager to take his advice for once. He wondered if perhaps he shouldn’t set up playdates between Iris and Noctis under the hopes of her enthusiasm somehow rubbing off on him.

Once Iris got used to the motion and focussed correctly, she quickly mastered the art of the cartwheel. Ignis moved on to somersaults, knowing this was often an excellent evasive move, should she ever decide to take up fighting. She certainly wouldn’t be employing her older brother’s technique at her size.

‘I can’t believe how you manage to keep up with her like that,’ Gladio said when Iris had finally tired of trying to copy Ignis’ rather more complex gymnastic feats and declared it time to watch a movie. Gladio stooped to pick up Ignis’ jacket and hand it over. ‘I’ve been training to keep up with her for her entire life and I’m still not at your level.’

‘It takes a higher level of energy,’ Ignis smiled, accepting his jacket back, slinging it over one arm.

‘So get addicted to coffee. Gotcha,’ Gladio teased, earning himself a light punch to the shoulder. ‘You wanna watch that movie with her? Knowing her she’s probably going to pick something princessy just to mess with us.’

‘I won’t dismiss them outright,’ Ignis shrugged. ‘They might have their merits.’

‘Translation: I’m a closet romantic,’ Gladio earned himself another shoulder punch. ‘Let’s make some popcorn. All this running around with Iris is wearing me down.’

‘You just want me to spoil your taste buds,’ Ignis accused, following him up the stairs and towards the kitchen.

‘You love it.’

Ignis didn’t answer; he knew he didn’t have to. For as long as they had known each other, Gladio had been supportive of Ignis’ hobbies, particularly the one he got to offer himself up as taste tester for. Having not had many friends who understood his passion for cooking, Ignis had been grateful for Gladio. Now, after nearly a decade of friendship, Ignis couldn’t picture his life without Gladio in it, taste tester or not. Any chance he got to put a smile on his friend’s face, he would take.

Jared greeted them both with a smile from his seat at the kitchen island, where he was mending one of Iris’ sweaters. ‘I take it Ignis is here to show me up in my kitchen?’

‘Come now, Jared, you are a master of the art in your own right,’ Ignis chuckled, going slightly pink at the high praise. ‘We’re merely here to make some popcorn.’

‘Kernels are in the pantry,’ Jared went back to his mending, knowing Ignis knew his way around the Amicitia household’s kitchen by now.

Ignis led the way to the pantry, not surprised that Gladio followed; he had been seeming more and more interested in watching him cooking lately, Ignis assumed it was because he wanted to be there to steal tastes every time Ignis looked away. Ignis wasn’t about to complain; Gladio’s presence next to him was always a welcome one, even if often it wasn’t as close as he wanted.

‘So what kind of crazy flavours you going to do for us today?’ Gladio watched him rooting around for the sac of kernels in the pantry.

‘Well, I think for Iris I’ll make caramel,’ Ignis also grabbed the tin of sugar. ‘For us, though… perhaps something spicy? Or in the very least a more savory snack. I’m not much in the mood for sweets in the evening.’

‘Spicy sounds amazing,’ Gladio nodded enthusiastically. ‘But everything you make is amazing, so.’

‘High praise,’ Ignis felt his cheeks go red as he led the way back out into the kitchen. Gladio’s praise always went straight to his heart, not only because they were always sincere, but because they came from Gladio. Praise from him always made Ignis stand a little taller.

Ignis set Gladio in charge of keeping an eye on the corn kernels as they popped in a large saucepan while he made the caramel for Iris’ snack and the spicy sauce for theirs. Gladio was vastly improving in the kitchen under Ignis’ careful tutelage; the popcorn turned out unburnt and fluffy, ready for Ignis’ magic.

Ignis mixed in the flavours while Gladio started washing up the saucepans until Jared kicked him out of the sink to take over, telling him to spend time with his friend. Ignis smiled when Gladio took a piece of the popcorn and made a satisfied sound in the back of his throat.

‘Shit, Igs, that’s delicious,’ Gladio reached out for another handful but Ignis pulled the bowl out of reach.

‘Wait for the movie,’ Ignis rolled his eyes. He held out a second bowl. ‘I’ve made some salted caramel for your father, too, if he’d like some.’

‘I don’t think he’s going to say no,’ Gladio stole a taste of that one as well. ‘Gods, Iggy, how do you do it? This is magic in my mouth.’

Ignis snorted and led the way out of the kitchen. He handed the salted caramel to Clarus, who looked surprised. ‘We didn’t want to leave you out, Mr… Clarus, sorry.’

‘Better,’ Clarus smiled. He tried a piece and his smile grew. ‘As always, Ignis, top notch. You give Jared a run for his money.’

‘I can hear you,’ Jared called from the kitchen, his tone playful.

‘Good, step up your game, man,’ Clarus laughed. He smiled up at the two boys. ‘Iris has selected a movie for us all to suffer through, I mean watch.’

‘You’ll like it, I promise. It’s about a girl who goes on a boat and saves the world!’ Iris accepted her bowl of popcorn from Ignis with an enthusiastic squeal.

Gladio plopped down on the sofa next to his sister, leaving space for Ignis to sit next to him. Ignis tucked his feet underneath himself, leaning slightly into Gladio. He took guilty pleasure in sitting so close, making him feel as though they were cuddling, as Gladio never pulled away, even as Ignis knew he would likely never return the _warm_ feelings he knew had been brewing in him towards his best friend for a while now.

He felt his eyelids growing heavy as Iris started the movie, all his late nights at the Citadel or Noctis’ apartment beginning to catch up with him as he was finally afforded the time to relax. He barely caught the beginning of the film before he fell asleep against Gladio’s shoulder.

Gladio stayed perfectly still throughout the movie, not wanting to wake Ignis, the very light sleeper, up from his much-needed moment of rest. Even as Ignis shifted and fell, head pillowing on his thigh, Gladio dared not move a muscle, even as he worried he might have an… _embarrassing_ reaction to Ignis’ proximity to his, _well_ , he best not think about it.

The movie ended and Iris bounded up to bed after planting a kiss to her brother and father’s cheeks, and still Gladio stayed perfectly still. Clarus noticed and smiled.

‘You know, Gladio, you _are_ allowed to be more openly affectionate around here,’ Clarus said quietly, regarding his son seriously. ‘I’d be a failure of a parent if my son felt he couldn’t be together with his boyfriend in his own home.’

‘ _What_ , dad? Iggy’s not my _boyfriend_ ,’ Gladio said rather too quickly, knowing his blushing cheeks were giving away how much he _wished_ his father’s assumption was correct. ‘We’re just friends.’

‘Not for long, the way you two look at each other,’ Clarus shrugged. He held his hand up when he saw Gladio was about to protest, requesting silence. ‘Listen to me, Gladio, I’m not a blind old man; I know what I’m seeing. You don’t need to be embarrassed, and certainly don’t need to deny how you feel.’

‘But dad, I’m the prince’s shield. Iggy’s his advisor. That’s like the definition of a conflict of interest,’ Gladio shook his head. ‘It’ll never be allowed.’

‘You know you’re both human right?’ Clarus rolled his eyes, something he rarely did, even in the privacy of his own home, yet somehow his son’s stubborn idiocy often drove him to it. ‘No one can _ban_ you from falling in love. Besides, how do you think I met your mother? She was one of Regis’ advisors. She was such a sharp woman, obviously I fell for her almost immediately.’

Gladio frowned. He hadn’t known she had been a direct advisor. He hadn’t asked much about how his parents had met while she had been alive, and now he wished he had.

‘What I’m saying is, and this is going to sound cliché and a little bit weird coming from me, of all people,’ Clarus laughed. ‘Follow your heart, Gladio. There’s something there between you and Ignis. Don’t ignore it. Don’t ruin your own happiness out of some odd sense of duty. I doubt the prince would like that very much; you’ve become friends, after all.’

Gladio smiled, glancing down at Ignis and feeling his heart flutter seeing him sleeping so comfortably on him. He nodded. ‘Thanks, dad. I needed a kick in the ass, I guess.’

‘Yeah, obviously,’ Clarus stood up and stretched. ‘I’m going to go take care of some work before bed. Goodnight, son. Don’t get up to anything _too_ disruptive.’

Gladio went scarlet, causing a satisfied grin to break out across his father’s face as he left. Shaking his head, he looked back down at Ignis, watching him sleep, smiling at the way Ignis’ face relaxed completely in sleep, showing none of his million daytime stresses and worries there. He loved that Ignis was comfortable enough in his presence to relax so completely; perhaps there was something to what his father had been saying. He reached down and moved Ignis’ hair out of his face gently, immediately regretting that decision when Ignis wakened.

‘Oh, sorry, Gladio,’ Ignis sat up, pushing his glasses up his forehead to rub his eyes.

‘Iggy,’ Gladio wasn’t sure how to phrase what he wanted to ask. Instead, he simply leaned forward, pressing his lips against Ignis’ in a wordless question. He pulled back after a moment, grinning when Ignis followed. ‘OK, so that answers my question.’

‘Er, Gladio?’ Ignis cocked his head to the side, so adorably confused that Gladio felt he needed to kiss him again. ‘I’m not complaining in the _slightest_ , but what brought that on?’

‘My dad gave me a pep talk,’ Gladio chuckled. ‘Well, more like he told me I was being a moron. You know, he just assumed you were my boyfriend this whole time?’

Ignis blushed. ‘Well, I suppose I’m not exactly subtle in staring at you sometimes? I had no idea you felt the same. I would’ve said something so much sooner.’

Gladio shrugged. ‘I figured you weren’t saying anything because you didn’t want the conflict of interest. That’s why I kept my mouth shut. But my dad dropped a verbal ass-kicking for that assumption.’

Ignis smiled. ‘I doubt Noct would complain about us being happy.’

‘Probably not,’ Gladio smiled back. ‘But you _would_ be happy, right?’

‘You mean if you kissed me again?’ Ignis asked with a coy smiled. ‘I think I could go about being over the bloody moon at that, in the _very least_.’

With those words, Gladio felt as though his heart was about to burst. As Ignis leaned forward to kiss him again, he made a mental note to thank his father in the morning for the well-timed butt-kicking. It was the greatest gift his father had ever given him.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I like the idea of a fun Clarus at home with his kids. I imagine him as a big ol' teddy bear dad.


End file.
